If you have been wondering, why does your computer shut down or suspend the hard drive after a certain period of inactivity? Since, new Windows 10 updates, many users have had this problem happen to them.
However, this function is simply run to save power and expand the battery life of our computer. But here, we will show you how to disable this option in case you don’t want it active on your computer.
What is sleep mode on a Windows 10 computer all about?
To get into context what a sleep on a computer is all about. It is a feature that was provided to these computers, so that the user can turn off the computer screen and CPU without having to close any of the programs that you are using.
When we enter sleep mode, all the programs that are open on the computer will enter a paused state, and this information will be stored in the computer’s RAM memory. By turning off the computer completely, but keeping a low amount of power in memory, this information is kept there until the computer is resumed.
In this mode, the computer tends to be in low amount of energy, and that only the RAM will use to be active saving the information of the open windows, Thanks to this, the energy consumption is less for the computer saving this one.
Hard disk failures and wear and tear in some computers
Hard disks are a very important component for the computer. But how to know if the hard drive is damaged is the most important thing to know, since we can take measures to repair it. Failures such as HDD wear and tear, when the HDD is in idle state, can occur at any time.
When we are in sleep mode, we refer to a state of having no activity, stopping power to the hard drive’s spleens and spindle. But this causes damage to them, both mechanically and electronically, which will occur when the operating system boots the hard drive. Since, the energy enters suddenly to the hard disk after the state of suspension.
What are the differences between sleep mode and hibernate mode?
Computers have two modes, a sleep mode and a hibernate mode. When in use, they may look alike in many ways. But no, they are not the same and although they perform similar functions, the information that is saved is stored in different parts of the computer.
However, these two functions have the same function of saving energy for the life of the computer’s battery. In this way, we can adjust our consumption and hours of use on the computer.
The sleep mode
- Stores all information in the RAM memory
- When it goes into shutdown state, its power consumption will only be in the memory part to keep this information active until the computer operations are resumed.
- Startup in this mode is faster than in hibernation mode.
The main problem with this mode is on laptops, because if the laptop is in sleep mode and the battery is discharged, all this information will be lost and you will have to reopen all the pages you have saved.
When using Hibernate mode
- When using the Hibernate mode, all the information will be stored in the hard disk and then it will be turned off completely and it will not be saved in the RAM.
- The power consumption when in this mode is even lower than in sleep mode and better at saving energy for the computer.
- Turning on the computer in this mode will be slower than the previous one, since the hard disk will have to read the information first, and then start the computer.
Within the options of these two modes, you will have to take into account the standby time. If you want to shut down your computer for short periods of time and then resume your activity, opt for the Suspend mode. But if you will be inactive for long periods of time and you do not want to lose anything you have on your computer, the best option is to activate the Hibernate mode.
How to disable hard disk sleep on a Windows PC?
If you want to prevent your Windows computer from suspending the hard disk, you will have to enter the options in energy to disable this option. To do this, follow the steps below:
To enter and configure the hard disk suspend. Press the keys Windows + R to open and write control.exe powercfg.cpl,,3 in the execute. This will open the power options
Inside these options you will choose the one of hard disk, then in the displayed options you will give in ‘Turn off hard disk after’.
Indicate here, after how many minutes the hard disk will be turned off. You will indicate that never to disable this option.